Fort Knox will join 10 other military communities to host the 2018 football ProCamps event for boys and girls, courtesy of the groceries sold in the commissary. The event will run July 11-12.

Fort Knox qualified for a camp based on commissary purchases of select items like Tide, Bounty, Charmin, Head & Shoulders, Crest and Pampers from March 19 to April 8.

The two-day event is sponsored by Procter and Gamble in partnership with the Defense Commissary Agency and is open for first- through eighth-grade youth of active duty military, reservists, retirees, and DOD civilian employees.

The other 10 ProCamps events are at the following locations: Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida; Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach, California; Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; Fort Carson, Colorado; Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida; Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas; Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico; and Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

"The Defense Commissary Agency is proud to be a part of this program with corporate partners like P&G and ProCamps, who see the value of taking care of our military children," said Sallie Cauthers, DeCA's marketing and mass media specialist. "Besides meeting and playing with actual NFL football players, these children will have fun as they get some valuable tips from the best players in the world. And, even more important, they'll learn about leadership and teamwork."

This marks the sixth year P&G has partnered with the commissary to run the NFL Military ProCamps program at installations worldwide, said Molly Fanning, director of partnership marketing for ProCamps.

"Procter & Gamble and ProCamps are proud to partner with the Defense Commissary Agency to provide a once in a lifetime experience to military children all over the world," Fanning said. "The commissary is the 'heart' of the community and so much more than a grocery store.

"These athletes connect with the participants on a deeper level and appreciate the challenges military children go through with parents deploying, moving from installation to installation, making new friends and more," she added.

ProCamps manages and operates sports camps around the world led by professional athletes. This year they've already conducted camps overseas for military children at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and Naval Base Yokosuka, Japan.

"These camps help children realize that when they have fun, put in the time and the effort, their dreams are within reach," Fanning said. "I truly love how at each camp, the athletes always remind the campers that they are the true heroes; the resilient ones whom they are proud of and look up to every day."

For more information about the camps being held at selected sites, contact the local youth sports office or visit the commissary for camp details.